Nation & World Glance
Trump names Meadows his new chief of staff
WASHINGTON — In the midst of one of the most daunting crises of his administration, President Donald Trump on Friday announced he had made a major staff overhaul, replacing his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney with Republican Rep. Mark Meadows.
While much of the country was focused on the spreading coronavirus, Trump announced the surprise reshuffle by Friday night tweet, saying Mulvaney would become the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.
“I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” he wrote, thanking Mulvaney — who never shook his “acting” title — “for having served the Administration so well.”
The long-rumored move comes as Trump has been pulling together a team of loyalists and allies ahead of what is expected to be a bitter reelection fight. But the timing — as his administration was already facing criticism over its handling of the outbreak — threatened to exacerbate concerns about the government’s ability to protect the nation from a virus that has now infected more than 100,000 people worldwide.
WSJ: Saudis arrest 2 princes for allegedly plotting coup
NEW YORK — Saudi officials arrested two members of the royal family early Friday for allegedly plotting to oust King Salman and the son he has designated to succeed him, Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Quoting unidentified sources, the Journal said guards from the royal court detained one of the king’s brothers, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and one of his nephews, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. Both men were arrested at their homes and charged with treason, it said.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the report.
Mohammed bin Nayef, a once powerful figure as head of Saudi counterterrorism efforts, had been crown prince until 2017, when King Salman took away the title and put his son first in line for the throne of the longtime U.S. ally.
Trump surveys tornado damage, marvels at ‘tremendous heart’
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — President Donald Trump on Friday toured a neighborhood reduced to rubble by a tornado earlier this week and marveled at “the tremendous heart” he witnessed. He also offered a message for survivors and those who lost family members: “We love them, they’re special people,” he said.
Trump assumed the role of national consoler as he traveled to Tennessee. Trump surveyed devastated communities in Putnam County, where a tornado tore a 2-mile-long path, killing 18 people, including five children under 13. Many more people were injured, some critically.
Statewide, the death toll stood at 24 from a pair of storms.
Trump was met upon his arrival by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and other top officials.
“It’s been a painful, tragic week for our state,” Lee said after surveying with Trump a street where eight people were killed.
One more victory: Biden wins most Super Tuesday delegates
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joe Biden has put an exclamation point on his Super Tuesday victories by winning the most delegates on the presidential primary calendar’s biggest night.
The Associated Press has allocated more than 92% of the 1,344 delegates that were up for grabs on Tuesday, and Biden has such a commanding lead that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders cannot catch up as the remaining votes from that day’s 14 state primaries are counted.
Biden built his delegate lead on Tuesday by racking up huge victories in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia, while scoring a narrow win in Texas. In all, Biden won 10 states and Sanders won four.
“Look, not long ago the press and the pundits declared this campaign dead, but this week we saw tremendous support across the nation,” Biden told supporters by phone Friday evening. “We changed the whole narrative.”
Sanders won California and three other states — Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont. Although Sanders won the biggest state, California, he didn’t rack up the commanding lead required to surpass Biden’s haul.